


Siren

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Angst and Humor, Fluffy and adorable, Gen, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-02-28 21:25:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2747630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman were two of the best the force had to offer. Out of 107 cases, they and Levi's team had solved all but one.</p>
<p>A new murder in town seems straight-forward at first, but the police force soon realises they're dealing with something much bigger...<br/>And it all begins with a pre-schooler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Setting things into motion

Blood. 

It was everywhere.

It splattered the ground in a frenzy, climbed the walls in a panic, and grew and grew, painting the room red. The sick squelch of flesh being pounded and torn echoed throughout the cold, dark room, lit only by outside streetlamps penetrating through the thin drapes over the window. Where once, it had been warm, the heating had long gone off, and any form of warmth drained from the bodies on the floor. The mutilated, twisted bodies. Internal organs were exposed to the air in their shreds, sliced and diced with no precision whatsoever. The squelching stopped. Heavy, panted breathing filled the silence, accompanied by choked sobs. At the sensation of being bathed in blood, the sight of extreme horror, and the stench of death, there was fearful scrambling away from the bodies on the floor.

By the time morning rolled around, quiet was once more granted with the silence of sleep, small hands clinging almost desperately to a bloody knife handle.

\----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x----x---

 

"Disgusting." The police officer assumed an expression of disgust as he entered the crime scene. They had received a call into the police station at roughly 6am that morning. A local postman had been going about his rounds when he saw blood splattered over the front window. Peering in through the translucent drapes, he'd seen two bodies, and instantly rung the police force. Now, experienced investigator Levi Ackerman stood in this very crime scene, frowning in disgust at the mutilations before him. They could hardly be referred to as bodies.

"Have you come to any conclusions yet?" Grey eyes coolly slid over to the head investigator who had just entered. Erwin Smith. Conclusively, one of the best the force had to offer. Out of 107 cases, he and his team had solved all but one.

"So far, all I can determine is that this was extremely violent but hesitant. Frantic, even. There's no sign of forced entry, so the killer was familiar to the victims. Also, a lack of evidence suggests the perpetrator is still in the house. I would guess upstai-." A shuffling sound. Grey and blue eyes alike darted over to a ghastly armchair in the corner, underneath a mounted moose head. Levi's hand twitched over the handle of his pistol, resting it its pouch on his left hip. Erwin approached slowly, placing both hands on either arm of the chair, ready to pull it out the way. Levi levelled the gun to the chair and- 

"S'up bitches~!" The weapon was dropped as a person in full forensics uniform burst through the front door. Erwin sighed heavily.

"Hanji, you piece of shit!"

"Levi, Hanji." He caught their attention, and an air of tension took reign once more. The forensic scientist backed off a little, allowing Levi to regain stance, his backup weapon in hands. Then, as if in unspoken agreement, Erwin pulled the chair out of the way, and Levi darted forwards. Only to pause in shock.

"A- A child?!" With wide, watery eyes, a young child stared fearfully into the barrel of the gun, shaky hands holding the bloody knife up at chest level, a defensive, protective action.

"...Tch." Levi lowered the pistol, taking cautious steps backwards. The child had a firm grip on the knife, and it's white nightshirt was just as splattered with blood as the skin.

"A child? What?" Coming out from using the chair as a shield, Erwin felt his eyebrows raise slightly in shock. The knife now darted between pointing at him and Levi, the young one becoming more and more panicked, like a caged animal. In all his years as investigator, Erwin had never seen one so young brandishing a weapon so accurately, so dangerously. But then, the décor of the house suggested a family with interests in hunting. This child was most likely the victims offspring, raised to handle weapons accordingly.

"Sasha!" Levi and Erwin whipped their heads around to Hanji, who had crept closer in anticipation to finally see a real monster. Almost instantly, the child dropped the knife, let out a wail and raced over to Hanji. The scientist scooped her up, holding the young one close.

"Hanji, you know this child?"

"Yeah, she goes to the same preschool as Connie! Y'know, my friends kid? Anyways, she's often stuck to his side like glue~. Sweet little girl, really." Levi scowled, peering around the room.

"You think a 'sweet little girl' would do this? That child is a murderer." Instinctively, Hanji narrowed her eyes as she took a protective stance.

"With motive, she could. I won't let you hurt her." The girl had gone quiet. She still tightly gripped Hanji's uniform, brown eyes wide open and fearfully fixed on Levi, the man who had held a gun in her face.

"Both of you, quiet! ...Thank you. Now, we'll take the child into custody at the station, just as we would any _victim_." Erwin's voice left no room for argument. Although unhappy, Levi nodded. There was nothing more they could do at the crime scene, and the forensics team were to move in. Which led to a new problem. Hanji was lead forensic scientist. Hanji was currently occupied with the little girl. And knowing Hanji, that little girl would not be going with anyone else. He could pull rank, but Erwin was much too familiar with Hanji's tendency to disobey on impulse.

"Hanji, I need you to-"

"No."

"-To come with us. The girl is key forensic evidence." Hanji blinked in disbelief and a little bit of shock. She hadn't expected that...

"Oh. Yeah, I can do that~!" Erwin nodded, walking out the front door and over to the police vehicle. Levi followed with a scowl set upon his face, disliking this entire scenario. Flashes of light and loud noises greeted his appearance from the house. Great, the media had arrived. At least they had the decency to stay behind the police tape. When Hanji emerged with the child in arms, the noise and flashes increased. Levi was grateful for the sense of urgency, otherwise god know what the scientist would have said, would have done. As soon as the group were in the vehicle, sirens blared out and they headed back to the station, where Levi's squad would be waiting for information.

"Permission to radio ahead, sir?"

"Permission granted." Levi reached forwards, unhooking the radio piece, pressing a small button on the side.

"Station, come in. Officer Ackerman reporting, over." There was a crackle of silence.

_"Station receiving! What's the situation sir?"_ He was relieved to hear Petra's voice reply to the call, rather than an officer who wasn't familiar to him.

_"Erwin and I are returning with Hanji and the prime suspect."_

"Prime suspect?! Already?!" Petra waited for the reply, leaning on the counter as she listened for the reply. Currently, all she could hear was indistinguishable squabbling between Levi and Hanji, with Erwin occasionally commenting on how he was **trying** to drive. Then, silence.

"...Gunther, can you get the repair kit out please? I think Captain Levi's broken the radio. Again." An older man poked his head around the door to the transmissions room, hair spiked up and tinged midnight blue.

"Again? That's the third time this month!" Petra rolled her eyes with a soft smile, shaking her head lightly.

"I'll make them some refreshments. Oh! Please warn Oulo that Hanji is coming too!" With those parting words, Petra went through to the kitchen. When the team had first been transferred here, the room had been a ghastly shade of yellow, crumbling and breaking apart. The first thing Levi had them do was to clean it to an acceptable standard. Now, the tiles were white, the floor carpeted a light blue, and everything actually worked. Not bad DIY for a team of police officers.

"Three cups, two tea, one coffee~." Whilst the kettle boiled, Petra arranged some biscuits on each saucer. If the radio had actually been broken, Levi would be in a foul mood, especially if there had been an argument in a confined space. The sound of a spoon clinking against the sides of the teacup were interrupted by the station door barging open. She rolled her amber eyes. Obviously, the trio had returned, and Levi was still bickering with Hanji.

"It is not a normal child, you idiot! It killed two people!"

"SHE! Sasha is just a child!"

" **IT.** Is. A. Murderer!" Erwin entered the kitchen with an expression of extreme defeat and irritation. He took the instantly offered cup of tea with a grateful twitch of the lips.

"Thank you, Petra."

"I predicted you'd need these. I heard you had the prime suspect in hand?"

"Well... Yes, but..." Erwin tightened his grip on the teacup handle.

"But?"

"All evidence points to a _child_ murdering their parents, violently."

"Well it's happened before hasn't it? Case 56 when-"

"That was an eleven-year-old. Petra, this child is _preschool_." The ginger started to cough, choking on her own disbelief. After being pat on the back a few times, she regained her breath and voice.

"Preschool?! Is- Is that even possible!?" Erwin nodded. He finished off the cup of tea, placing the empty mug by the sink.

"I need to write the report. Show Hanji and the child through to the questioning room for children and see if you can find some children's clothes in lost and found."

"Yes sir!" Professionalism called for Petra to salute, forgetting that she still had a stirring spoon in hand.

"Ow!" Grumbling, she tossed the spoon into the sink and exited the kitchen. Lost and found was a familiar place for the policewoman, who quiet frequently spent entire days at the station when not on call. Rarely was there an incident that required her to do field work, when instead she could monitor the radio channels. It was her area of speciality. However, even as familiar as the lost and found area was to Petra, she was not the groundskeeper.

"Mike!" Silently, the man emerged from the room. He smiled down at the much shorter and younger officer.

"Are there any children's clothes in there? Preferably preschool, but not necessarily."

"Girl or boy?"

"Ah... I forgot to ask Erwin... Neutral, if possible." Mike nodded. He disappeared into the undersized room, rummaging through the large quantity of items. Petra never understood how he did it so superbly accurate, as he came back with a small pair of dungarees and a light green shirt.

"Thanks Mike~! How on earth do you do that so quickly?" With a hint of a smirk, the groundskeeper tapped the side of his nose in a secretive manner. Petra left with a smile. She found Hanji in the main station room, sitting in one of the chairs with a small lump on her lap. A lump covered in splatters of blood, with dishevelled brown hair, tangled and loose.

"Long time no see, Hanji~."

"Petra!" The scientist, in full forensics kit, jumped up eagerly, swinging the child up to hold in one arm. The girl squealed gleefully, and Petra couldn't help but smile.

"This is my best friend's son's best friend, Sasha! Say hello Sasha~!"

"H-Hewo~!" Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to leave the two females in charge, as adoring squeals filled the station.

"She's so cute! Hello to you too~!" Shyly, the girl hid her face in Hanji's shoulder. Petra found herself laughing quietly at the action.

"Come on, come on~. Erwin has given permission for us to use the questioning room for children, and I have some clothes to change her into."

"That would be best. I need the nightshirt for forensics testing." The two uniformed women and the blood covered child made their way through the hallways, to a narrow corridor, lit by faulty yellow lights that kept blinking and cold, grey walls. Petra took a ring of keys off her belt, and unlocked a door labelled QRC. She flicked on the lights, and the illusion of uncaring, cold police stations was shattered. The entire purpose of this room was to calm and entertain children victims and witnesses. However, that didn't exclude child suspects...

"Here we go Sasha~. Let's get you cleaned up~!" Pulling off her own forensic suit, Hanji pulled a swab packet out of her pocket. They'd need to take blood samples, even if Sasha had been found at the crime scene, to prove she was there. More than anything, Hanji wanted the pre-schooler to be found innocent. To do that, there'd have to be evidence of someone else. A single molecule of blood, a flake of skin, a shred of DNA. Science would be this girls only hope, unless they had witness statements.

"EEEEEeeeeEEEEEEeee~! Tickles~!" The fluffy swabs caused the three year old to squirm and giggle as the multiple blood samples were cleaned from her skin. Getting it from her hair was a completely different and more difficult task. In the end, Petra suggested they tied the straggly brown hair back, and washed it in a tub of distilled water. 20 minutes later, Sasha was clean, and dressed in the denim dungarees and light green top. She sat on the floor playing with a truck toy, Petra sitting opposite, and having removed her hat from the heat. Hanji had gone to deliver the bloodied nightshirt to her underground laboratory, as well as change into something more casual.

"Vroom, vroom~" There was nothing unordinary about this child, Petra thought. She was just as sweet and innocent as any other child...

"Petra."

"Hm?" She smiled in a welcoming manner as Levi entered the room, holding the cup of tea he'd found in the kitchen, in a very unique way. Petra questioned internally how the steam didn't burn his hand. Her smile dissipated when she saw the way he looked at Sasha. The cold, almost emotionless glare that he usually fixed upon murderers and rapists as they were sent to court. A glare of pure disgust and accusation, directed at a three year old girl.

"... Captain?"

"She should be in handcuffs. Your personal safety is at risk." Sasha blinked up at the two with large eyes, before turning her attention back to the truck.

"Personal safety? Levi, no disrespect meant, but she's only a toddler..."

"Which killed her own parents." A rare look of angered disappointment settled on Petra's face. Usually, that look was reserved for Oulo.

"That hasn't been proved yet, Captain, and you should refrain from making judgements until it has!" Grey eyes widened the slightest in shock. Never before had he been the infliction of Petra's condescendence. He covered up the change in mood by sipping from the teacup the way he normally did.

"... Proven or not, I would be concerned for your safety in any case."

"Thank you, sir. But I am quite capable of defending myself." Levi almost sighed. Almost. He once more sipped from the teacup, inviting the warm liquid to dance on his tongue with a soothing peppermint tinge, and liquorice undertone.

"Understood. Do be careful though, Petra." She nodded as he took a seat at the questioning table. Sasha continued with the truck toy, holding to her chest with both hands as she stood.

"Petwa?"

"Yes Sasha?"

"I need a wee!" The child's stance changed to cross legs, bobbing a little with a face of desperation. Petra's amber eyes widened a little, and she brushed a strand of her ginger hair back behind her ear.

"Oh... Let's get you to the toilets." She took one of Sasha's little hands, glancing over at Levi. He was obviously unhappy, but nodded his permission. Even murder suspects had human rights, and denying toilet needs would violate about 3 or those. With a smile, Petra flounced out the room with little girl in tow. The staff toilets were much cleaner than those reserved for people detained in this area, although they were a little further away.

"Hurry, hurry, we'll get you there in time!" The door to the female staff toilets flapped open and closed as the two entered. Undoing the dungarees was the hardest part, but Petra was soon stood outside the cubicle door, holding it closed as Sasha went about her business. The little girl hummed a nursery rhyme, until there was the sound of a flushing toilet.

"Done?" The cubicle door opened, the dungarees undone and almost falling down. It didn't bother Sasha much, who gave a prize winning smile.

"Done!"

"Wash your hands then~." Petra pushed a small plastic yellow stool over to the pre-schooler, who stepped up onto it with no complaint and turned on the tab, tiny hands rubbing under the water stream.

"Soap?"

"BUBBU~!!!" The soap lathered into bubbles, Sasha grinning as she blew them off her hands and into the sink. She giggled and squealed innocently, completely enthralled in the simple activity of washing her hands. Petra's eyes softened as she watched the child. How could Levi judge one so young when there was obviously nothing wrong...? Then, silence.

"Hm? Sasha?" The girl was staring at her own hands under the tap, frozen in place.

"Sasha?" Petra dared to tap the brunette on the shoulder. Sasha jolted.

"Th- The bwood... It- It won't come off..."

"Blood? What?" That was when Petra realised. Sasha's transfixed stare on her own hands was filled with chilling fear and uncertainty. There was no blood on her hands, but there was blood in her mind.

"The bwood won't come off! It w-won't come off! I dun wike it!" Acting quickly, the ginger turned off the tap and wrapped a paper towel around Sasha's hands. The dull, hollow, terrified eyes met her own.

"Sasha, Sasha, it's okay, you're okay, there's no blood okay? There's no blood."

"N- No bwood?"

"No blood." Petra's gaze was constant, promising. Slowly, Sasha's breathing levelled out. She swallowed and nodded, the majority of the tension dropping from her shoulders.

"No bwood." Smiling softly and reassuringly, Petra removed the paper towels. Sasha's childish eyes widened. There was, as promised, no blood. She looked up at the magical policewoman in front of her, jaw dropping with awe. The ginger only laughed softly at the expression, doing up the dungarees.

"Why don't we go back and play with the toys again?"

"Yaaaaaay~!" The child jumped joyfully off the stool, feet thudding flatly on the ground. Petra offered out a hand, leading the toddling girl back to QRC.

"That took longer than expected." Levi coolly gazed up as the duo entered. The child raced over to the toy truck, completely ignoring the 'evil little' man.

"There was some... Difficulty..." A dark eyebrow raised questionably as Petra sat herself in the chair diagonal to him. She sighed.

"Whilst washing her hands, she thought she saw blood, but there wasn't any."

"Hm. Petra, are you aware of the story of MacBeth?"

"I am... Familiar, with it sir." Levi leaned slightly back in his seat, arms folded in front of him and legs crossed in a very classy fashion.

"Lady MacBeth hallucinated and saw the blood of her victims on her hands. She compulsively washed them, due to 'irremovable' blood, until the point where she committed suicide. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"You're instigating that Sasha seeing blood is admission of murder."

"Precisely."

"Get out." There was no warmth in Petra's tone as she ordered her superior around. The only fire in her eyes as she glared at him was anger, and the senior officer knew he had stepped too far. He cleared his throat apologetically, an action others might see as rude. Those that truly knew him were aware of Levi's inability to abandon his pride. But they were also aware of his hyper-tense body language and how little actions could be so much more. So the apologetic sound was accepted.

"We should probably get the questioning over and done with." Levi returned to an authoritative pose, sitting sensibly in the chair. The duo realised that large brown eyes, gleaming with innocence had been observing them the entire time.

"I'm hungwy."


	2. Complicating the matter

The underground laboratory was freezing cold, for preservation purposes. Now that she was out of that dreaded full-body forensics suit, Hanji buttoned up her labcoat over a plain black t-shirt, tied her hair back tighter than before, and pulled blue tinted goggles over her glasses.

"Moblit! Have you got those blood samples yet?" 

"Yes, supervisor. I'm just doing a toxicology test now."

"And the stomach contents?"

"All that we could recover is prepared for mass spectrometry."

"Excellent~!" The mousey assistant shook his head at Hanji's enthusiasm. They were the only two on lab duty today, seeing as the other forensic scientists would be sending samples back from the crime scene. Even so, Moblit knew Hanji was likely to flicker in and out. Short-attention span, he guessed, until it came to certain subjects...

"Have I ever told you how much I freaking LOVE the mass spectrometer~?!"

"Yes ma'am, multiple times."

"Ah~, just the way the particles are accelerated and directed and the wonderful graph at the end results and-" Moblit phased her out, rolling his eyes with a slight smile as he was taken back to A-level chemistry days, Hanji rambling on lovingly about the machine.

" _EH?!?!?!_ " He almost threw the microscope across the room at the loud screech. After he had remembered to breathe again, calming his panicked heart, Moblit instantly went over to his supervisors side.

"What is it? Is there something unexpected?"

"Only about 7 times the amount of paracetamol required to kill a man! And- And cocaine?" The two scientist scrutinized the results in silence for a moment or two.

"... You're about to do something illegal, aren't you supervisor?"

"Yup. Could you crush up some paracetamol and photograph its crystal structure? Thanks Moblit!"

"Ah, wait! Hanji, ple-!" Too late. The door to the laboratory closed and a discarded lab coat fluttered to the ground, joining the goggles there. Moblit sighed, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Why does she do this every time...?"

 

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4 sandwiches, 7 biscuits, and a packet of crisps later, Sasha was content. Both Levi and Petra just gawped at the small girl who consumed so much.

"Is that- Is that normal?"

"Not in this lifetime..."

"Captain, perhaps I should go shopping ready for teatime..."

"That would be best. Permission granted." With a still stunned expression, Petra left the room. They could keep Sasha in custody for 11 more hours, which would cover lunch and teatime. Currently, the police station cupboards were full enough to provide for lunch in 5 hours.  
Levi was left in the room with this child, who polished off even the crumbs on her plastic purple plate.

"Listen up brat. I'm going to ask you multiple questions, and you are to answer each one honestly. Understood?" A blank look. A confused blink. An irritated adult.

"Jesus Christ, are you stupid?"

"Yep!" Levi sighed. Fine. He could play it this way.

"Sasha, we're going to play a little game..."

"Game~?!"

"Yes, I'll ask you a question, and you answer it. You get... A point for every right answer."

"Yay~! Can I ask questions too?!"

"No. Now wh-"

"Is there a pwize?"

"No, you get points. So tell me-"

"But there has to be a pwize!"

"There is no prize."

"There **has** to be!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

" _ **No!**_ " He slammed his hands down on the table as he shouted, patience reaching its limit. Silence. Wonderful, sweet, silence.

"Y-You're a meanie..." The dark brown eyes started watering, the child's bottom lip wobbling.

"Oh no. Oh no no no no NO! Don't you dare start-"

"WaaaAAAAHHH!!!!!"

"-Crying..." Levi's will to live dropped dramatically. He was stuck in room with a wailing Sasha. He wanted OUT.

"Be quiet." He was trained to deal with police officers and hardened criminals.

"Silence!" He wasn't trained to deal with children.

"Shut your trap, heathen!" He didn't even _know_ how to deal with children. As the crying continued, Levi let out an extended growl of annoyance, sitting back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling. He clasped his hands over his ears. Not much help, but supposedly better than nothing. _Happy place, Levi. Happy place._ He could only hope that this noisy torture did not last too long. Actually, he decided he preferred torture to children.

"Are you quite finished!?" He had to remove a hand from his ear to catch a soft toy thrown at him. Swearing under his breath, Levi had had enough. He stormed over to the door, slamming it shut behind him. Sasha was left alone in the room with her temper tantrum. Levi was let loose with his bad temper.

"Erwin!!!" He knocked furiously on the commanders office door, but the reply was as calm as ever.

"Come in." If there was ever a living metaphor for a storm trapped in a room, this was it.

"Commander, that child is impossible! It's noisy and violent, complains all the time, eats most of our supply and-! Are you even listening!?"

"Yes, yes. I'm listening."

"It's not even answering a single question!"

"A bit like a normal child then." Erwin's eyes never left the page he wrote on, but Levi could see the calm within the blue.

"Well yes, but-"

"Levi. If you can't question her like a normal child, then I'll take over."

"... That might be for the best, Erwin." The blond sighed. He put the pen down on the desk.

"Alright. Can you write your own report?"

"Thank you, sir." With the slightest of content smiles, Erwin stood. He followed Levi out of the office, the shorter heading towards the staff room to do as ordered. Erwin's heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor. The soundproof walls didn't allow for him to hear Sasha's cries until the door opened.

"... Levi..." He almost scowled the name of his subordinate, who had obviously upset the child. But Erwin was a calm and patient man. He had to be for this job. All he had to do now was remember the kid's name... Drawing back on the arguments all the way back to the police station, Erwin reached into his memory to try and find the girls name. Something beginning with S... _Susan? Sara? Sarah? Sasha? Sandra?_

"Sasha, why are you upset?" He sighed internally when the girl ceased her wailing, ugly tears painting the distressed face disgustingly.

"Th-The short one is weawwy mean!" Really mean. Short. Erwin's suspicions were confirmed. Levi was most certainly not cut out for child work.

"What did he do?"

"He- He shouteded..."

"He shouted at you?"

"Mhm! He hit the table and went 'No!' weawwy scawy wike!" Sasha copied out the action with a pout, although she was too short to hit the table surface and clapped the table legs instead. It was entertaining to watch, but Erwin knew he somehow had to take control of the situation.

"I suppose we'll have to tell him off, won't we?"

"Yes! And tell his mummy!"

"Tell her that he's been a naughty boy?"

"Uh-huh! And then she'll smack his bottom and say 'naughty, naughty, naughty'!" Although he was sure Levi had long been without parents, the mental image from the child's words proved highly amusing. Not to mention that Sasha was now giggling, no longer upset. That was an achievement in itself.

"Come here." He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket, kneeling down on the floor. Sasha came obediently, squeaking a little in surprise as her face was scrubbed clean. Once the handkerchief was removed, Sasha scrunched up her face to loosen the muscles.

"... Where's Jiji?"

"Jiji?"

"Mhm~! Jiji! She's my fwiend, and Connie's fwiend, and Connie's mummy's fwiend!"

"Do you mean... Hanji?"

"Yep, yep, yep! Jiji~!" Erwin found himself with a soft smile at the affectionate nickname.

"Hanji is working at the moment. I'm sure she'll come by later."

"Pwomise?"

"Of course."

"Pinky pwomise?" The girl held out her pinky finger with a determined pout. Although it was probably illogical, the adult imitated the gesture, completing the pinky promise.

"Are you happier now, Sasha?"

"Mhm~!" 

"Can I ask you a few questions now?"

"Are they hard?"

"No, not at all. It's like... A quiz."

"Yay, a quiz!" Sasha scrambled over to the chair, wriggling up as she sat in the seat innocently, like a schoolgirl ready to learn. Taking the investigators chair, Commander Erwin reminded himself that Sasha was as much a victim as she was a suspect.

"Would you like to press the record button on here?" He pushed an interviewer device closer to Sasha, knowing that getting her to interact would more likely make her honest and eager to answer. Enthusiastically, she pressed the red button. The first thing the recorder caught was Erwin clearing his throat.

"Could you tell me your name and age please?"

"But you know my name!"

"Please." Although confused, the pre-schooler did as told.

"I'm Sasha, and I'm fwee!"

"Three years old?"

"Yep~! Mummy says that big girl age, but Pa says big girls are twelve!" A few seconds after her gleeful statement, Sasha's smile fell. Her hands folded in her lap and she stared at them, eyes watering.

"M-Mummy and Pa won't speak to me anymore will they?" A soft pang of sympathy had Erwin sigh, but he couldn't lie.

"No, Sasha."

"They're never coming back, are they?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Is it- Is it my fault?"

"I don't know. Is it?"

"...I-... Y-yes..."

"Why?" Erwin wasn't expecting an answer. He was expecting Sasha to finally break and cry, or silence. But she did answer. And with her answer, the ground shook and revelations appeared, whilst also complicating the manner, and giving rise to new questions.

"Because I did what the bad man told me to."


	3. Thy shitstorm increaseth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How does one pronounce unaminous...?
> 
> Also; sensitive souls had best prepare the tissue box.

"Moblit! I'm back!" Hanji's enthusiastic flair returned to the cold, underground laboratory and the assistant sighed. He'd just finished running the blood samples and had been awaiting her return. As Moblit turned to face her, he let out a definitely 'manly' screech.

"Wh- Wh- Wh- Why?!?! How?! WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT?!?!" Hanji was, quite proudly, holding up a small packet at eye level with a cheerful grin. Hanji was holding up a small _white_ packet of _powder_. Hanji was holding up a packet of cocaine.

"Hm? Oh, I 'bribed' a guy into getting me some~." 

"If you needed the crystal structure that bad, why didn't you just look through the database!?"

"Calm your tits, Moby~. I didn't get caught!" The assistant would have been stunned at the behaviour had it been the first time. But he was so used to Hanji using these unorthodox (and possibly, absolutely illegal) methods that nothing truly left him shocked for long anymore.

"Fine. But why didn't you just use the database?"

"Regional differences. Based on where this baby was made and stored, its crystal structure can lead us straight back to the source with its inconsistencies."

"... I- I see..." Moblit understood. Had the cocaine found in the mass spectrometer played a key role in the murder, being able to trace it back to where it had been produced was a requirement. But he didn't understand why she'd asked him to crush up the paracetamol...

"Hmmm..." Hanji stared at the cocaine sample through the microscope, then switched it with the paracetamol, then back again. She retained a straight posture, tapping her chin. One, two, three times. A indication, her assistant realised, that she was about to do something either crazy or stupid.

"Hey Moblit."

"Y-Yes supervisor?"

"Go through and separate them by eye alone. No cheating!" With that, Hanji mixed together the finely ground paracetamol and the cocaine sample. Sighing with the heaviness of the earth on his shoulders, Moblit grabbed a pair of tweezers, sat himself in the chair, and started _trying_ to identify which grain was which white powder.

 

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"A bad man? Can you tell me more?" The child whimpered.

"U-ummm... He- He gives Pa white stuffs, a-and the fat one in bwack penguin cwothes says 'money pwease', but Pa dun have the money, so the fat one says 'okay next time', b-but there wasn't a next time 'c-cos I did what the scawy bad man told me to..."

"Sasha, what did the bad man tell you to do...?"

"He-... He-... I-... Knife-..." That was when the poor girl couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears, sobbing and wailing as her little fists tugged distressingly at her brown fringe. At this rate, she was going to pull it all out. Erwin may have known, as a police commander, when to have a stony heart, but he also knew and had the capabilities to feel compassion, and sympathy. Henceforth, he reached across the table to stop the recording, then slipped from the chair to pick Sasha up. Distressed, she clung on.

"The bad man can't get you here."

"He- But he-! I- I want my mummy! I want my Pa!"

"... I'm sorry."

"I- I- I want them b-back... I wish I hadn't wisteneded..." 

"I know, Sasha. I'm sorry." He rubbed her back softly, cradling the young girl so that she cried into the crook of his shoulder. He ran over the information he'd been given in his head. There was at least two, maybe even three 'bad men'. Obviously, they were male, and Erwin could only speculate that 'penguin clothes' referred to a suit or tuxedo. The placed one of the bad men as wealthy, or in a well-off situation. The more he dwelled upon it, the more Erwin thought about calling in their offender profiling specialist, Eldo. However, it was his week off, and to assign more work outside of an emergency bordered on breaching employee rights.

"Sasha~!" Crashing through the door, still excited from her discovery, Hanji was looking forward to playing with the cheerful, bubbly three-year-old. Her mood instantly deflated when she saw the scene in front of her.

"What happened...?" She came over, the child transferred into her arms by a solemn Erwin.

"The interview didn't go too well... Please take care of her. I... Have something to do." Mysterious as ever, the blond left the room. Hanji watched him leave, her eyes filled with a sadness and confusion. Her hand continued to rub Sasha's back, the denim dungarees shifting with every movement, as they were a little oversized.

"J-Jiji..." The tears subsided into pitiful whimpers, Sasha cling to the familiar figure for dear life, seeking out comfort in the form of a friend.

"It's okay... I'm here now, you're okay... Shhhhhh..." With the soft words and softer tone, accompanied by gentle hug and tender warmth, Sasha was quick to calm. Her small fists still clung to the black material of Hanji's shirt, but her muscles had slackened.

"Sasha?"

"M-Mhm?" Tired, she was so tired.

"Are you okay?" No. She just wanted everything to go away.

"...Mhm... Sweepy..." Maybe she would dream of her mummy and Pa.

"Would you like to take a nap?" She wanted to see their faces.

"Yes pwease." She wanted to hear their voices. Just one more time... Just once... One... More...

"Sweet dreams, little one~..." The child wasn't awake to hear those words. Nor was she awake when Petra returned. She didn't even wake for lunch. Time was ticking. They only had Sasha in custody for 7 more hours, after which she would be taken away by social services and placed in a children's institution. When the inspector came, they would have to decide whereupon Sasha would be placed, depending on her temperment, behaviour, and the evidence on her side.  
Depending on analysis, she would either be placed in _'The Underground'_ , and institute for criminal and difficult children, or she would be assigned to _'The Walls'_ , where she would be treated as the young, innocent child Hanji believed her to be. _'The Walls'_ was further divided into three main categories. Wall Maria children lived at the institution until they were 18 and able to provide for themselves, whereas Wall Rose children were fostered until 10 and then adopted by another family, and Wall Sina children were suitable for adoption immediately. Hanji had already decided that if Sasha ended up in Rose or Sina, she would be the first to take in this precious child.

"N-Ngn..." Sasha shuffled. Sitting back in the bean bag with the child resting on her stomach, Hanji had been close to dozing off herself. Only Petra popping in every now and then to check on them had kept the scientist awake.

"D-Don't... Go..." Trying not to disturb the young girl, Hanji propped herself up lightly.

"I-I'm sowwy... _'M sowwy...!_ Mummy! P-Pa!" Sasha cried out in her sleep, volume increasing with the panic. Hanji then intervened, patting the small back softly.

"Sasha... Sasha, it's just a nightmare... Sasha!" Jolting up in place, Sasha froze. She swallowed down the billowing fear and acidic bile, balled up fists wiping away built up tears.

"Y'okay Sasha?"

"...Nu-uh..." With a gentle sigh, Hanji lay back down on the bean bag, arms wrapping around the bundle and pulling Sasha a little higher. Innocently, the pre-schooler settled, using Hanji's small but soft chest as a pillow. She could hear a calming heartbeat, feel the soft kisses being placed in her hair as a soothing technique.

"... Mummy used to do this..."

"Hm?"

"Wh-when the meanie at pweschool made me h-hurteded... Mummy letted me wisten to her pwetty heart..."

"Oh..."

"You have a pwetty heart too Jiji~." Hanji smiled softly. Had the situation been a bit better, and the grown woman not so tired, she probably would have tickled the little ray of sunshine for that, like she had done many times at her friends house. Connie and Sasha had always been a mischievous duo, but too cute to punish. Generally, they were tickled into submission and surrender, squealing until their sides hurt. Hanji smiled at the memories, a few of them quite recent. Maybe a week, two weeks ago?  
The more she thought about it, the more adamant she was on taking Sasha in, even temporarily. She _knew_ the girl. Knew when she was being playful or just plain disobedient, knew how much she ate and her favourite meals, her fears and dislikes, her friend network... Although Sasha was fierce and brave, Hanji could always see the times when it was just a mask. When the child was crumbling inside, but kept it together for the sake of making others happy.

"Jiji?" Now, it was someone else's turn to cheer Sasha up.

"Yes, lil' potato~?"

"H-Hey! No fair! It was jus' once!" The girl puffed out her cheeks in an irritated manner, but there was a playful glimmer in her eyes. A rambunctious laugh escaped Hanji at the memory, when Sasha had devoured a whole potato because the older kids at preschool told her they were 'magic food'. That one event determined Sasha's infamous nickname for what seemed to be eternity.

"Sorry Sasha~. What was it you wanted to say?"

"... I forgeteded..."

"You forgot?"

"Ye- Yeah! Forgot!" The little girl sounded gleeful at learning the correct terminology, smiling brightly. Hanji returned the grin, trying to hold back a yawn. She failed to do so as Petra entered the QRC, a delicious scent of cooked food wafting around the tray she held. Sasha instantly perked up, almost throwing herself backwards in enthusiasm. Regaining balance, the three year old toddled over to Petra as fast as she possibly could.

"Petwa! Petwa! Fooood!" The ginger laughed softly, stepping carefully as to not trip over the young one.

"I hope you like chicken soup~."

"With bwead and butter!?"

"Yes~!"

"Congratulations, Pet~. You've made a friend for life!" Placing the foodstuff down on the table, Petra smiled over at a stretching Hanji, before offering a cup of coffee off the tray.

"I'm glad~. There are cupcakes in the oven for afterwards."

"Eh? Cupcakes~?! Ohhhh... Levi?"

"Yup! Although I'm not sure what he's stressing over this time..." It was a well-known fact by everyone at the police station that cupcakes mysteriously appeared in the oven or on the cooling rack the very second Captain Levi was on the verge of strangling someone, or extensively frustrated. However, no one had ever caught him in the act. Petra had worked it out upon finding a large stack of her favourite flavour in the kitchen on her birthday. Hanji, on the other hand, had known Levi for long enough that she could match the cupcakes in flavour to the ones he often offered guests at his home.

"Ehhh... I have an idea..." The scientist glanced over to Sasha, who was all but devouring the soup and bread roll. My god, it was like watching a theoretical black hole.

"... You think Sasha stressed him out?"

"Most likely. Erwin was here when I came in, so I think Levi transferred the task over to him."

"Pffft, I can only imagine how awkward that must have been for the Commander!" A smug smirk graced Hanji's face, the corners of her coffee covered lip twitching upwards.

"Nah, he's actually pretty good with kids. Big ol' softy on the inside." The female staff shared a look, before elapsing into laughter. Had they not been in uniform, it may have appeared as best friends generally chatting. They were interrupted by the door to the room slamming open, and almost panicked Oulo in the doorway.

"Petra! We're on call!" With a professional glance at Hanji, a quick goodbye, Petra pulled her police cap on and made her way over to the smoky-haired smoky-smelling co-worker. The last sight she had of Sasha was a large enthusiastic smile decorated with breadcrumbs.

"Come back soon pwease~!" The door to QRC shut.

"What's the briefing?"

"Warehouse by the pier, reports of criminal activity. The only confirmation we have is a witness video attachment on e-mail of a drug exchange. Unknown source."

"A bust operation? Why our team?! The rookies could hand-"

"Erwin thinks it's something bigger." There was a grave tone in Oulo's voice as he peered over his shoulder at the policewoman hurrying after him. Worry flickered in his eyes.

"He thinks it could be a lure?" There was no verbal answer, but Petra knew from the strangely serious behaviour Oulo displayed, that it was a resounding yes. Their rushed footsteps sounded as loud as drums all the way to the police van. There was no time to exchange niceties with Gunther as they leapt in, buckled up, and started to sort out their ammunitions. Sirens blared as the vehicle sped towards the pier.

"Eldo will meet us there." Levi had been so quiet, he had almost been invisible, if the team had not known he was always there. The distinct scent of sugary sweetness was a grand contrast to the severity of the situation. Lure situations, and traps, were very dangerous, even for the most experienced officers. But determinism set in, and Petra gave Levi a nod of confirmation. They lapsed into silence. Oulo filled his ammunition pouch with spares, Petra critically checked and cleaned her glock pistol, Gunther focussed on the road as he drove, and Levi looked calmly out the window. He was anything but calm. In the pit of his stomach, there was something that felt like it was eating him away, like a bad foreboding. There was something about this mission he didn't like. No, he hated it.

"Captain." Coolly, his eyes slid over to Petra, who was just about to exit the van. They were here.

"Where's Eldo?" Stepping into the piercing sunlight, Levi lifted a hand to shield his eyes. The warehouse was in front of them, a few hundred meters off. It was daunting, teasing the officers to come inside.

"Over here." The tallest member of their team waved him over, standing beside a small plastic table. The surface was covered by photographs, almost entirely blank. By squinting, grey eyes could only just manage to pick out human shapes.

"These are CCTV images."

"Yes. All from around midnight over the past week, from the camera opposite the warehouse."

"The pattern is too regular. They're baiting us."

"... I believe so, sir."

"Tch." Levi scowled, almost growling. He was annoyed that the police forces be judged so lightly, but, pushing aside the bad feeling in his stomach, he was confident the hunters would end up the prey...

"Prepare to mobilize." A unanimous _'Sir!'_ drowned out the squawking of seagulls circling above like vultures, the team ready to move in. The plan included in briefing had Gunther taking the lead, backed up by Eldo. Once they gave the all-clear, Petra and Levi were to follow and root out any clues or evidence. The least experienced of the five, Oulo would be last, checking for the pulses of anyone who got in the officers way...

"Move in." Gunther lifted his rifle to shoulder level, observing through the eyepiece as Eldo kicked open the warehouse door, holding his own police-issued pistol to survey the general area. Empty. He waved his hand forward. _'Continue. Safe.'_ The echoing of their own footsteps was all they heard in the open warehouse, until the distinctive _tap, tap, tap_ of Petra's steel-toe capped shoes came creeping in. Levi walked silently, but they knew he was there. With the duo behind them, Gunther and Eldo followed orders to move further forwards, penetrating into the darkness and shadows. Now, they were out of earshot from the others, practically alone. Positioned near the entrance, Levi went to pull the safety off his gun. Except he couldn't. A low, quiet hiss escaped him.

"Shit..." He received a questioning look from Petra, and quickly demonstrated the issue. His favourite pistol, and the only one he had on him, was unusable. The duo shared a look of agreement. Levi would have to go back, find a spare in the truck, and send Oulo in to cover whilst he searched. Creeping back slowly, step by step, the bad feeling lurched in Levi's stomach. Still, he exited the warehouse quickly, heading straight over to the police van in a sprint.

"Oulo! You're in! Take over my position and continue the mission as planned!"

"Yes sir!" Grey hair and dark blue uniform disappeared into the warehouse. Rummaging through the supply box, Levi was able to find the spare pieces of a basic pistol. Fumbling to assemble it, his head darted up at the sound of a gunshot. The feeling in his stomach exploded, the taste of acid in his mouth which he forcefully swallowed back down, and Levi realised then that he should have trusted his instinct. The radio on his uniform crackled at an incoming transmission.

 _"Sir! We've made contact and are giving chase!"_ Scrambling between building the gun, trying not to vomit, and answering the call, Levi managed to pull himself together.

"Petra, who shot first?!" There was an ominous silence.

_"...Gunther is down, sir..."_

"What are you doing in there still?! Recover the body and get out!"

_"But sir-!"_

"That is an ORDER!" He knew it was only going to get worse. He could feel it.

 _"Sir, we have the enemy cornered, we- **Shit!** "_ A loud blast echoed out in the area. It deafened Levi. At the same time, shockwaves of an explosion cracked the ground, shattered the van windows, and rippled out to set the police vehicle on its side. Even as he was violently thrown around and tumbled, Levi was able to glance out the side window, eyes widening in horror. _The warehouse..._ What remained was little more than rubble.


	4. Grief

Moblit gave up. It was impossible! Separating out the finely grained paracetamol and cocaine was much too difficult, even to a trained eye. As he finally put down the tweezers, he understood why Hanji had asked him to do this. After all, if a practiced scientist couldn't determine the difference, how on earth would a normal citizen. His supervisor had given him this test with that possibility in mind, and they had made a discovery. Through their usage of drugs, the Braus parents had been murdered.

 

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" _-vi! Levi! Ope-... -eyes! Levi! -En your_ eyes! LEVI!" Pain echoed through his body, escaping him as a groan. He heard a heavy sigh of relief, and hands that had previously been gripping his shoulders were removed. For a few seconds, he recollected his memory, the only giveaway being a sharp intake. He already knew who it was next to him from the voice.

"Er... Win... My team... Did they- Did they make it?" He knew they hadn't. He'd been on radio with Petra at the time. He knew they were inside. He felt the explosion, saw the aftermath. He knew they weren't alive.

"No. I'm sorry, Levi." Shifting, the shorter knew he was still in the toppled van.

"Erwin, my foot." The tone was soft, the voice quiet, and Erwin knew his subordinate was hurt. Badly. And not just his foot.

"Hold still." The foot, he could fix. The other kind of hurt, only time could ease and it would never heal. Leaning over Levi, Erwin pushed aside damaged boxes and spilled goods. There. Levi's ankle was trapped in a small gap, twisted at an odd but not extreme angle. At the most, Erwin reckoned he'd be limping for a few weeks. The ankle was freed from its capture, and Levi pulled it in to sit cross-legged, head resting on his knuckles as he propped himself up. Erwin moved to sit next to him, a steady hand on a shaky shoulder.

"Will you be alright?"

"It's just a sprain. I'll heal."

"... You know that's not what I meant." There was a momentous pause, the only sound being Levi's breath rapidly quickening and catching.

"G-Goddamnit Erwin..."The blond wasn't surprised when his friend gave up the strong front, sobbing into the Commander's uniform shoulder. Any other officer would have emotionally snapped upon waking, and Levi was still remarkably holding himself together. After a little less than 5 minutes, the tears had stopped.

"They- They knew what they were getting into... They knew the dangers... They knew it was a trap, we- we just didn't know how _good_ that trap was..."

"...We should get back to the station. The rookies can clean up and recover bodi-" Erwin was cut off by a sharp, sarcastic bark of laughter.

"Bodies?! Erwin, they were blown to fucking **pieces**! Their families- The families won't be getting any bodies back..." Exhaustion and sadness sapped the bitterness from Levi, and he sent an apologetic glance to Erwin. A pat on the shoulder was his reply, before Erwin was helping him out of the overturned police van. Just as the Commander had suspected, there was a strong limp in Levi's walk. He had no doubt, that by the end of this week, the station would be overflowing with cupcakes.

 

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"What d'ya think Sasha? Yummy, right~?"

"Wight! Wight! Yummy!" Seeing as Levi's squad had gone out on call, Hanji hadn't hesitated to go and fetch the cupcakes out of the oven. They were still soft, warm, and gooey on the inside, the best kind. She was sure nobody would mind a few missing... Or the whole lot.

"Aha~! You'll have to thank Levi for these~."

"The meanie one?"

"Yup, that's him!"

"Nu! I don' wanna thank him! He's scawy!"

"He was the one who made the cupcakes~." Sasha pouted. She liked the cupcakes, but she didn't like the mean, short man.

"Don' wanna. I will, but I don' wanna."

"Good girl." The duo reached for their third cupcake each, from the plate of nine that Hanji salvaged. That was when Sasha suddenly gasped. Hanji gave her a questioning look.

"We need to save fwee for Petwa!"

"Pfft~! Of course we will! You like Petra, don't you?"

"Yep! I- I wanna be jus' wike her when I'm owder!"

"Ah, really?"

"Mhm~! I'm gonna ask Petwa to teach me to be a powice woman!" In the doorway, Erwin frowned. He'd come to tell them the news, but upon hearing the sweet conversation, conflict grew inside. Hanji in the very least had to know, and it was only right that Sasha understand why she would be under someone else's care... But how much more trauma could her small heart take before breaking? How could he crush her hopes and dreams? In the end, he didn't have to.

"Petra's dead."

"Wh- What?" At the two distraught expressions sent towards the door, Erwin had to resist the urge to lecture Levi for being so blunt. But, he blamed it instead on the days events, knowing that Levi was generally quite good at delivering this kind of news. This time, it had affected him personally, and he was being blunt as to not fall apart completely.

"That- That can't be true! What happened?!" There was the scraping of a chair as Hanji came over. Erwin had to react quickly and hold out his arm to stop her lunging at Levi.

"Gunther. Eldo. Oulo. P-Petra... They're all gone... Dead and gone..." Empty. Shallow. Hollow. Levi wasn't sure how to describe the feelings inside. Rarely was a police officer lost on duty, and death was even rarer in such 'calm' situations. To suddenly have four comrades, and all on his own squad, ripped violently away...

"H- How...?" The watery eyes of molten chocolate before him reminded Levi that he wasn't the only one suffering from the sudden snatch. Hanji occasionally joined the group on nights out, and she was exceptionally close with Petra. Some mistook the two as sisters, and a few had even interpreted them as a couple. The females were as close as could be, and even Levi knew that. He felt the sorrow deepen.

"The mission... The mission was compromised.... The warehouse, i-it was a trap... They're _**gone**_ , Hanji... They're _g-gone...._ " Nobody complained when Hanji pulled Levi closer, a comforting, subtle gesture. He didn't hug back, but she could feel his weight lean against her shoulder. Sadly, Erwin lay a hand on each of their backs, thumbs circling gently. For a moment, it was like they were back at the academy, fresh from their training days and distressed from loosing Isabel and Farlan to a poorly executed raid. Although Erwin knew he should put the two on leave, he was fully aware of the risks of being alone. _Especially_ these two. For their own safety, he'd take them off call, but keep them at work.

"Hanji, let me go now."

"No. I'm not done."

"Hanji. You're suffocating me." The scientist obeyed, releasing Levi. She snivelled pitifully, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"What are you gonna do...?" Grey eyes slid over to a child, who watched them all with watery eyes and wobbling bottom lip. He approached slowly, limping and picking up a pack of crayons, before sitting cross-legged in front of her, an air of soft authority.

"Sasha. Petra isn't coming back."

"She- She not?" Levi picked a green crayon and begun to draw on the ground. 

"No. Bad people got her."

"B- Bad people?!"

"Mhm. Which is why I need to know... Have you ever seen this symbol?"

"Y- Yes... B-But it was purpee."

Purple?" A calm panic took hold of the officer, pointing at his own drawing to see if the girl recognised it. She had. And she had even corrected the colour, which Levi had picked wrong on purpose. A shiver ran down his spine as he turned to Erwin.

"Commander... This symbol was at the warehouse..." Erwin and Hanji both came over, and the same fear begun to flow through their veins. The green symbol on the floor was almost a human face, except the full jaw was removed and it was as if all the skin had been removed to reveal muscles underneath. It was familiar to the policing staff.

"That- That's the symbol of 'The Titans'..."

 

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Using the microscope, Moblit had finally separated out the cocaine from the paracetamol. Working endlessly, long and hard, he was now comparing the crystal structure to known samples, trying to locate where this drug had been cultivated and stored. More importantly, it could lead them to the person responsible for the murder of the Braus couple. Hanji was adamant that their daughter either wasn't the cause, or had been manipulated.

"Ah! A match!" He quickly looked around for his notebook, grabbing it off the counter and noting down the sample number that matched. Hurriedly, he tidied up the area with precision and started to make his way over to the lift, to find supervisor Hanji.

"Oh! Ownership, ownership..." He paused only to search on the database laptop for the owner of the location that matched the cocaine sample. Then, he entered the lift and exited the underground laboratory.


	5. Dangerous foreboding

"Titans? In this district?" The Titans. A large collection of criminals who evaded the law, their families dragged into it, and innocents who strayed into the gang, desperate for money. The group was mainly known for their large heists and bank robberies, with a distinct method of destroying the walls to get to the vault.

"Yes... And- And they're active. The incident at the warehouse, the 'bad men' you informed me Sasha had been manipulated by... They're related. The two events are related and we just need to work out how."

"Levi, that's a huge connection with little, if any evidence." Erwin and Levi spoke in quiet, hushed tones in the corner of the questioning room. They were watching Hanji pace distressingly up and down, unaware of the child chasing after her ankles.

"I know, but-" A knock on the door interrupted before it opened.

"Supervisor! I have-! Oh, please excuse me!" The young ashen brunette saluted to his senior officers, who both nodded in response, an indication to continue speaking.

"I- I managed to connect the powder sample with a location..." For a moment, speechless eyes were set upon him, before Hanji barrelled towards him, gripping his shoulders tightly.

"You- You genius Moblit! You amazing genius! Where did it come from?! Where?!?!" A little surprised at the sudden behaviour, Moblit held his hands up in a defensive pose, the notebook still in hands.

"I- I have it written down!" Hanji frantically snatched the book away, flipping through the pages like a wild beast until she reached the information required.

"Mo- Moblit... Are you 100% sure this is correct?"

"Yes, supervisor." Sadly, Hanji looked over to Levi.

"Well? Spit it out shi-... Hanji." He refrained from swearing due to Sasha's presence.

"Levi... You have the connecting evidence you need... The sample... It's from warehouse 12A by the pier..."

"...What?" A sharp snap, a rigid bit, a poisonous tone entered the Captain's voice.

"Th- The warehouse-"

"I know what you said. You. Are you sure?" Moblit shuddered as storm blue eyes, filled with fire and ice at the same time scrutinized him accusingly. It didn't help that even Hanji gave off a rare murderous aura.

"I- I'm sure! Warehouse 12A, owned by the Reiss family, is where the sample came from!" Levi was about to boil over. He was furious. He was livid. He was on the war-path. The heavy door to QRC slammed shut as he stormed away, as fast as the hindering limp would let him. It was almost as if a hurricane had struck, the room felt to be shaking.

"Sc-Scawy..." The little hands clinging to Erwin's legs reminded him that they shouldn't be discussing these matters here. Comfortingly, he scooped Sasha up, the three year old whimpering from the bad vibes in the room.

"Did I- I do summing wong?"

"Did you do something-... No, Sasha. You did nothing wrong." Calm blue eyes regarded the two scientists, muttering to each other. He could pick up enough words to piece together that they were going to 'clean up', so to speak, the warehouse CCTV pictures to try and place Lord Reiss at the scene. It would be a controversial discovery. A high ranking noble, partaking in crime. Then, Erwin had a moment of striking genius. Sasha had seen three of The Titan members up close enough to identify. If he could get her to pick out the perpetrators from a photoset, and she picked Reiss, there was enough evidence to gain an arrest warrant. Once apprehended, they would be able to gain more information. All they needed was a witness identification...

"Sasha, would you like to help out?" A confused look. Even Moblit and Hanji had stopped conversing to try and work out what Erwin was saying.

"Would you like to help catch the bad men?"

"The ones who hurteded Petwa?" The blond nodded.

"And the ones who told me to hurt Mummy and Pa?!" Another nod. Brave, fiery determinism glowed in the childish brown eyes.

"Yes pwease!" The girl was serious. A large hand ruffled her tied-back hair.

"Good girl. Hanji, get started on cleaning up those CCTV images. I'll fetch the ID files. Moblit, stay with Sasha. Sasha, be good."

"Yes Sir!" Hanji saluted before scampering, and the pre-schooler copied the saluting gesture.

"Yessir!"

"E-Eh? What? I- I'm not a babysitter! I'm not qualified! Ah, Commander! _Supervisor!!!_ " As the door closed, Moblit was sure he saw Hanji grin teasingly. He sighed in defeat, turning to face the small brunette, in bright green top and oversized denim dungarees. She blinked innocently, and the assistant scientist offered a weak, lopsided smile. Sasha grinned.

"Boo!" Had the room not been soundproofed, the entire station would have heard the terrified shriek.

 

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"GAAAAH! This is near _IMPOSSIBLE_!!!" Hanji's hair was violently tousled as she frustratingly ran her hands through it. For the last five minutes, she'd been trying to make the people in the CCTV images clearer, but had only so far succeeded in creating what looked like a teenagers art project.

"... Oh wait... Shading curve." She smacked her forehead in embarrassment, having forgotten the simplest technique available, a good, reliable one. Bringing up the shading curve scale, she was able to brighten the image as a whole, before tediously using sliders until each face was visible.

"Aha! Not even midnight CCTV can defeat me! Bwahahaha~!" With a joyful skip, she printed out the now-visible images, to be compared with the files Erwin collected. But first, coffee. She needed coffee. She headed off to the staff kitchen, and as she paused outside, she could both hear and see Levi. He was almost throwing ingredients around, reckless and angular in motion. He swore rapidly, spewing the words like molten lava. The kitchen smelt sweet, a distinct waft of a bakery and tepid sugar scent from an arrangement of flavourings and fruit. Vanilla was the most prominent, but there was an undertone of strawberry. Hanji quickly realised Levi was making a batch of Petra's favourite. If that were the case, there would soon also be banana muffins, almond and honey cupcakes, an a mouth-watering lemon drizzle cake, decorated with a squiggle of chocolate.

"Oi Levi." He threw a glance only seconds long at Hanji, before turning back to chopping the fresh strawberries.

"Let me guess. Jellybean and starburst?"

"Oooh~! You always know my fav-! But that's not what I was gonna say."

"Hanji, Erwin's taken me off call. Just tell me if you want the damn cakes or not."

"... Pleeeeeaaase~? Oh, and a coffee would be nice too." She caught the upwards twitch of his lips as he flicked the kettle on.

"So. What were you going to say?"

"Why not have a bake sale?"

"... A bake sale."

"A bake sale~."

"Number 1: What the fuck? Number 2: Why the fuck? Number 3: What the actual _fuck_?" Hanji shrugged a little, offering a sheepish smile.

"Well you bake a lot... And they're not as poisonous as I'd guess~! And, well... We know their families aren't well off, especially Gunther's, so... Why not raise some money to give them a proper send off...?" For a moment, Levi stared at the steaming kettle, hand quivering as he froze whilst reaching for a mug. Then, his eyes softened, a smile tugged at his lips, and he continued the motion. Stirring the coffee beans into the hot water, he wondered how on earth Petra managed to do this.

"That's... That's a good idea... For once." Hanji took the offered mug and took a chug.

"Just don't forget the jellybean and starburst cupcakes~! Oh, and your coffee is shit, by the way." Cackling in glee, Hanji fled before Levi threw something at her. A crash from behind signalled a baking tray had just impacted the floor where she stood seconds ago. Her laugh echoed through the cold, grey corridors.

"Winding him up, Hanji?" She almost collided with Erwin as he stepped out of his office, arms filled to the brim with files and folders in various hues of beige.

"Yup~! You know Levi... He'd bottle it up otherwise... Besides, he wouldn't be Levi if he wasn't insulting someone in some way!"

"True, true." A gentle smile tugged on the Commanders lips. It was an expression he showed only to those he knew capable. Newer officers, until they had proven themselves, only saw the colder, crueller side of the well-respected Commander. Erwin was strict, and probably came across as harsh to those who didn't understand him.

"How do you think your assistant is doing with Sasha?"

"Pfff~! Moblit? Probably freaking out in the corner whilst lil' potato runs rampant~."

"Let's find out." A low chuckle escaped Erwin as he reached for the QRC handle.

"-and flames came out of the mountain!"

"Woah! Big fwames?!"

"HUUUUGE flames! The people scattered like mice, in every direction, heading for the carriages and-! Oh, h-hello Supervisor, C-Commander..." Blushing a deep red where he stood, Moblit froze in the middle of acting out his story. Hanji had collapsed in fits of laughter at the sight of the usually reserved man, and even Erwin was having trouble keeping a perfectly straight face.

"A-At ease." Furiously crimson with embarrassment, Moblit swiftly moved into a less enthusiastic, more natural posture. Sasha tugged at his leg.

"Stowy! Stowy! I wanna hear more!"

"Ahahaha... M-Maybe another time...?"

"Nuuuuu! Nowwww!" Recollecting herself with a final wheeze, Hanji came over and scooped the little girl up in one arm, saving Moblit's trousers. She quickly dropped the improved images onto the table so she could support Sasha properly.

"Aw, c'mon lil' potato-"

"Don' call me that!"

"- We got a job to do~." Pulling Sasha into her lap, she plonked herself into the comfy, padded chair at the table. With a roll of his azure blue eyes, Erwin seated himself in the hard, plastic one, sprawling the beige files on the table surface.

"Now, I'm going to show you some pictures, and you just have to tell me if you've seen them or not, and what they did. Understand?" 

"Yup, yup! I help!" The pre-schooler cleared her throat, taking on a serious attitude. On one so young, the stern and focused face was amusingly cute.

"Right. Here we go." 23 files later, and Sasha had picked out three individuals. All 3, she said she had spoken to, or rather, her father had spoken to. Now, Moblit had been left to care for Sasha again, whilst Hanji and Erwin discussed the situation in his office.

"Kenny Ackerman; former soldier in the military. Rod Reiss; a noble from the area. And Grisha Jaeger; a doctor at the local hospital."

"That would explain how they got the lethal doses of paracetamol."

"Exactly. Sasha said she only saw him once, with Ackerman."

"Mhm. And that it was Ackerman who gave her the knife, told her what to do with the promise of sweeties."

"To use a child like that... Despicable!" A low growl erupted from Erwin's throat, his eyes shadowed over dark with anger, and fist clenching painfully closed.

"Commander..." He exhaled door and slow, Hanji watching him with hard set eyes. They were all stressed, but giving in to anger at this stage was unacceptable.

"I apologise."

"I understand, Erwin, but we can't lose it now, for Sasha's sake."

"Right. Lastly, she pointed out Reiss, the money collector. As far as I can recall, she stated he was the 'nice' bad man."

"So we go for him first?" Determined excitement lit a fire in Hanji's eyes. It was quickly quashed when Erwin leaned forwards to rest his chin on his hands.

"No. If The Titans are just using him, he's disposable. They find out we're looking for Reiss, and he ends up a dead man. We can't allow that. The man holds vital information we can use in court."

"Hmm... By that logic, if we target Jaeger first-"

"He AND his family end up dead, even if they divorced long ago. I believe they have a boy of Sasha's age too." For a long while, dark, ominous silence filled the Commander's office. By default, they had narrowed it down to Kenny Ackerman being the first and foremost target. A dangerous man. One with no mercy, who resorted to all tactics to get the job done. One who would use a child to do a monsters job.

"Commander... Do we even have the staff to go after this man?" Sleek blond hair was smoothed back by Erwin's left hand.

"No. Not even with all the stations in this district, and we don't have the skill level. Not unless..."

"... Sir, you can't put Levi back on call... Not yet..."

"I would like to avoid that at all costs, Hanji, but this time... It may be our only hope."

"I- I understand. Then, is Mike going too?" A solemn smile made itself present on Erwin's handsome face.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. You're coming too, by the way."

"Ehhh?!?! You- You're letting me in the field~?! I'm coming too~?!" I've waited all my **LIFE** for this~!!!" As Hanji continued to ramble excitedly, with that twinkle of euphoria in her eyes, Erwin softly chuckled and shook his head. Perhaps, if she could curb her enthusiasm, she would make a great Commander someday.

"Hanji."

"Oh, umm, yes Sir?" She was still grinning like an idiot.

"We have 3 hours until the social services assessor arrives. By then, we need solid evidence that it was not Sasha's free will to murder. We need to catch a criminal."

"Understood! I'll get the backup teams and artillery ready, and notify the other stations!"

"Excellent. I'll inform Levi and Mike." It didn't take long at all, only a mere 20 minutes to rally the teams and all they would need. In disguised police vehicles, staff from 4 different stations had surrounded the known residence of Kenny Ackerman. A silent fury seethed within Levi. The former soldier had once mentored him, long before Levi joined the police academy. He had always thought himself to be indebted with kindness to his former mentor, but now, he realised he only had to pay the veteran pain. Pain equivalent to ruining a child's life. Pain equivalent to taking away his friends, his family. That was only on a personal level. Levi didn't want to think about how much trauma and damage The Titans had caused in this world. Beside him, Hanji's trigger finger twitched. Adrenaline rushed through her veins in accompaniment with fear, and she was itching to make a move, to catch a killer. The radio's on each of their vests fizzled with static before the eerily calm voice of Erwin rung through.

_"All units, prepare to mobilize."_


	6. Observations

The observation room was dry, dusky, and far too warm. Moblit had removed his lab coat in this stifle environment, slinging it onto the back of the chair he sat in. He spun it casually from side to side, never all the way round, but just enough to keep the little girl on his lap entertained. Really, he shouldn't have allowed Sasha out of the QRC, much less bought her out, but he could see how the rising boredom could have led to impending doom.

"Jiji! Jiji!" The girl made grabby hands towards one of the 18 screens in front of them. They were displaying live action from police drones in the area, and Hanji had just exited a police vehicle.

"Good girl, Sasha. Do you recognise anyone else?"

"Emm... Yup! 'Win is there, Wevi is there.. Umm..." Moblit had to cover a hand over his mouth to stop him snickering at the child's pronunciation. All laughter was cut short when she spoke again.

"Moby! Moby! Bad man!" Preschool fingers poked towards screen 14, overlooking the large back garden.

"Where? I can't see him..." Lifting Sasha onto the desktop, she scrambled closer and placed her pudgy finger on a small patch of land. Rewinding the tape, Moblit watched in horror as the Ackerman appeared to be laying down a long trail, before descending into the neatly dug hole Sasha had pointed out and covered it with a slate of metal and fake grass. A makeshift bomb shelter.

"Oh my gosh... He's going to blow the house up...!" The forensic assistant lunged from the chair, ordering Sasha to stay exactly where she was as he tripped and stumbled out of the room in a panic. Reaching the radio set up, he frantically twisted knobs and flipped switches until he got the right frequency.

"Commander! Commander! Come in! Please respond!"

_"Moblit? Why are you-"_

"Ackerman isn't in the house! You must NOT go in the house!"

_"Moblit, calm down and tell me what's going on."_

"Y-Yes sir!" He took a deep, calming breath.

"Ackerman is in the garden, in camouflage. A fuse line stretches into the house, and I highly believe he's waiting until everyone is inside."

_"... Thank you, Moblit. ALL UNITS REGROUP!!!"_ Sighing in relief, Moblit put the radio down and returned to the observation room. As ordered, Sasha hadn't moved, eyes glued to the motion screens in front of her. Another sigh of relief escaped the man when he saw each and every police officer retreating carefully back to the vehicles. As soon as he sat in the seat, Sasha jumped across from the desktop. The three year old momentarily knocked the wind out of Moblit, but he didn't mind too much. She was too young to really understand the respiratory system and role of the diaphragm.

"Is Jiji coming home?"

"Not yet Sasha. They need to catch the bad man first."

"Oh... Okay~." Comfortable silence took hold of the duo, watching the screens as Erwin gave new orders. They watched as two teams set off to circle the left of the house and enter the garden at the back. Another two teams, if Moblit had interpreted Erwin's hand signals correctly, were to circle the right of the house and lift one of the fence panels directly opposite Ackerman's hiding place, and enter that way. 

"I'm hungwy."

"Hmm? You're hungry?"

"Yup~! Food pwease~!"

"Alright, alright~." The young man chuckled as he stood, leading Sasha by hand to the kitchen. As he shut the door to the observation room, shrouding it in almost complete darkness, he missed the bright flashes of gunshots from screen 14.

On the other hand, Levi, Hanji, Mike, and Erwin were all highly aware of the shots fired. Very quickly, they had sprung into action at the sound of a semi-automatic. Being the quickest due to his small size, Levi reached the obliterated fence first. He very narrowly dodged a blast in the face, gritting his teeth when he saw the dead bodies, riddled with bullet holes, bleeding out onto the grass. Acid curdled in his stomach, threatening to appear as vomit whilst the stench of death lingered in the garden.

"Levi!" With a complete disregard for personal safety, Hanji sprinted across the gap, skidding to a stop at Levi's feet.

"H- Hanji, you idiot!" She grinned at him as she stood, before elapsing back into seriousness.

"We're going to have to go straight at him."

"I know."

"Do you have any qualms about killing him?" Levi's eyes narrowed, his lips pulled into a snarl. This bastards iconic behaviour was explosions, and flashes of the warehouse flickered in Levi's memory.

"Hell no. I look forwards to seeing this fucker dead." He clicked the safety off his fixed weapon.

A completely different click sounded out in the station kitchen. The kettle had just finished boiling, and Moblit poured it into two pots of instant noodles. After all, he supposed he could take his break now and just work longer later.

"Here we go~. Bacon flavoured noodles."

"Yaaaaay~! Thankies, thankies~!" Sasha clapped her hands gleefully as the food was placed before her. Picking up a plastic fork she begun to messily eat, like any three year old. However, Moblit noticed she held the utensil in a very developed way, more like an adult. In many ways, Sasha's technique was much too refined for her age. But in other activities, the childish ones like colouring, she was on the same level as other pre-schoolers. He also noticed, that for such a loud, energetic child, she was incredibly able to stay still and silent.

"Sasha?"

"Mhm?"

"What do you do for fun?"

"Hun'ing~!"

"Hunting?!" Noodles splashed as she nodded enthusiastically, not detecting the surprised and slightly appalled tone in Moblit's voice. Who gave a kid weaponry with intent to kill?!

"Pa made me a bow 'n' awwow! I good at it!"

"O-oh... What do you hunt?"

"Birds! Pa and Mummy hunteded deer an' moose, but the biggest I gots was a boar." Boar? Moose? Deer? It dawned on Moblit that Sasha must be referring to the mountain range, a good day or so away by car. It was perfectly legal in that highly-guarded area, with very tight security on hunting licenses and permits. That would make sense then, that Sasha had characteristics of silence, patience, and manoeuvrability skills.

"Boar are very big to me."

"Reawwy?"

"Really~. I think it's great you can get birds and boars~."

"And wabbits! But I don' wike hun'ing wabbits..."

"Why's that?"

"Cute! Wabbits are cute!" Moblit chuckled lightly. His noodles were half-finished, but he was full. Perhaps he shouldn't have had a huge breakfast that morning...

"Ah, I used to have a pet rabbit~."

"You did~?!"

"Yes. It was black and white with huge floppy ears."

"What was its name?"

"... Fluffy bum..." The girl laughed loud and cheerful, before finishing off the last of her noodles.

"I finished~!" With a small smile, Moblit took the empty noodle pot and put it by the sink. As he turned back around to grab his own half-empty noodle pot-

_"Hey!_ \- which Sasha had climbed onto the table to steal what was left.

"Hehe~..."

"...It's fine, you can have it."

"Yay~! Thankies Moby!" He smiled softly as the pre-schooler dug in, whilst he started on washing up. It was beautifully quiet. With the station empty, there was no background hustle and bustle, no rushing around... But as nice was it was, Moblit preferred when everyone was around. It made it all so... Lively! _**SLAM!**_ The man jumped almost six feet in the air. Quickly, he scooped Sasha up and went to head back to QRC.

"Moby?"

"Hush, Sasha. Just be quiet for now."

"... M'kay..." She gripped on tightly, picking up on the worry buzzing like hornets. Moblit's footsteps were fast and hurried. The slam from the front door had not been their officers returning. Moblit wasn't entirely sure who it was, but they had known the station was empty. They had known when and where to strike. It was likely that they knew Sasha, witness to The Titans crime, was here and defenceless. Wait. QRC. Questioning room for children. If the person/persons who had broken in knew the layout of the station, that would be the first place they looked.

"Oh god..." Muttering prayers under his breath, Moblit sped up past the QRC. He noticed Sasha's questioning, fearful gaze, but she remained silent as told. It terrified Moblit that had he stuck to the rules and remained in QRC the whole time, he never would have heard the intrusion. It could have resulted in them both being killed, without even knowing. It was lucky then, that he _had_ decided to bring Sasha out... Swiping his card key and stepping into the lift at the end of the cold, grey hallway, Moblit could only pray the underground laboratory would keep them safe. The last thing he saw before the lift descended below ground was a long, threatening shadow at the end of the corridor.


	7. Aftermath

Puffing and panting, completely out of much required oxygen, Levi lay flat on the blood-drenched grass. His chest rose and fell quicker than normal, but he wasn't the only one. A few meters away, Erwin was also floored, gripping tightly at his right arm. The blood that poured from the wound was immense, a direct bullet to the shoulder. Hanji was desperately trying to help, but no amount of pressure was stopping the red liquid from spilling. If Erwin didn't die from the blood loss, there was no doubt the arm would be useless. Further to their right, Kenny Ackerman had been restrained. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and he was forced into the ground by Mike and a few officers from other stations. There was loss of life, a huge amount for one perpertrator, but they had caught him. Summoning up what was left of his energy, Levi crawled over to Erwin and Hanji.

"L-Levi..."

"I know, Hanji, I- I know..." Ambulance sirens wailed as they approached, the scene bloody and traumatic. Levi could see how close Hanji was to losing it. Already, her eyes were flooding over, her face scrunched in distress, and choked sobs sounded out with little hiccups. The battle was over, but this was where Hanji was most vulnerable. With a sigh, Levi reached out and took one of her blood soaked hands. She gripped on tightly.

"H-Hey... Don't cry, y-you piece of shit... Y- You're ugly enough a-already..." With a slight snort at the brash humour, Hanji pulled away her hand to smack him lightly on the chest. 'Lightly' being smacking the air out of his lungs as he lay gasping on the ground.

"You two, knock it off..." At the familiar voice, Hanji gasped with delight and Levi smirked.

"He speaks. Even bullets can't keep you quiet, Commander."

"You know me better than that, Levi."

"Unfortunately." Calm blue eyes held a humorous quirk as they met steel grey, ending up in the two men huffing in amusement. Hanji wiped away the salty water from her face with the back of her hands as the ambulance crew came over to take Erwin to hospital.

"Hey... Shitty gl-glasses..."

"M-Mhm?" Sirens wailed and the ambulance with their boss in sped off.

"Help me up..."


	8. Cotton tails and cardiovascular arrhythmia

The dull whir of machinery was a common sound to Moblit's ears, but for once, it was terrifying. The only thing worse, would be silence. He was sat on a cold hardwood surface, back pressed against the inside of a cupboard. Moblit's knees were up to his chest, but cradled as closely as possible was an equally frightened Sasha. He could feel her quaking, clinging on tightly in the small, cramped space. Surrounded by test tubes and other scientific glassware, Moblit knew he couldn't move, or the game was up and they'd be found. He hoped the glassware on the desktop above them, removed from the cupboard to make room, wasn't a dead giveaway. Luckily, the invader hadn't seemed to work out where they were as of yet.

"M-Moby?"

"Ssh, hush Sasha... You need to be quiet, okay? Sshhh..."

"I- I'm scawed..."

"I know... I'm scared too. Shhhh, it'll be alrig-" He cut himself off at the sound of a large, metallic jolt. Peering out the small gap left by the cupboard door, once his eyes had adjusted to the thin strip of blinding light, he could see the lift floor slowly moving down. Someone had overridden the coding system. But the only way to do that was to either hack the system or use a key card... The kind of key cards needed to activate the laboratory lift were scientist, doctors, firefighters-  
Doctors.  
There was someone who knew about Sasha and was a doctor.  
Doctor Grisha Jaeger.  
 _He had the necessary key card to activate the lift._

The lift clunked into place, and Moblit held his breath. He could feel the panicked thrum of his own heart in his throat, and could hear the fearful racing of a much younger heart. He took a long steady breath, calming his heart, and gently pulled Sasha up to rest on his shoulder. Footsteps. Closer and closer. Heavy black boots paused in front of the ajar cupboard door. This, Moblit realised, could very well be his last few minutes. He held the three year old tighter, feeling strands of her brown hair brushing like cobwebs across his cheek. He turned his head to the side, exhaling warm hair over Sasha's scalp to let her know he was still here. She shuffled lightly, damp tears wetting his shoulder and quivering lips pressed into the crook of his neck. Terrified. She was absolutely terrified.

"I know you are in here." There was a tone of impatience in the doctor's voice. He hadn't realised the duo were in the cupboard just in front of him, as he read through Moblit's notebook on the surface with bored eyes.

"Hiding won't save you, child." Moblit's eyes widened a fraction. The doctor had made a terrible mistake. He presumed Sasha was alone. Was Grisha Jaeger really that dim? No, that was impossible. He was, after all, a member of The Titans, and a well-respected doctor.

"I have some sweeties for you. All you have to do is come out."

"And all you have to do is surrender." A huge sigh of relief escaped Moblit at the sound of Levi's voice. It was unsteady and exhausted, but it was Levi.

"Hands above your head! Now!" Sasha's head lifted up at Hanji's demand. Rescue was here! A low growl indicated the doctor was resisting. In an instance of extreme bravery, or perhaps extreme stupidity, Moblit tightly closed his eyes and pushed the cupboard door open with as much strength as he possessed.

"Gah!" Immediately, the doctor was on the floor. Hanji blinked. Levi's reaction was much faster, on the floor with handcuffs just as quickly. Grisha was restrained, and Levi automatically started to lead him to the holding cells, taking the lift out of the lab.

"Hey Moblit! You can come out the closet now!"

"I already did... Years ago. And that's a cupboard, Supervisor."

"Jiji~!" Sasha wriggled in Moblit's grip as she shuffled out the cupboard. Hanji laughed, and Moblit paused momentarily to look at his supervisor.

"... You're covered in blood..."

"Hm? Oh, Erwin's... He's in hospital right now."

"Is he- Will he be okay?" Hanji playfully pat Moblit's worried face with the back of her hand, where there was no blood.

"Of course~! It is Erwin, after all." The woman darted over to the sink to at least wash her hands and face of blood. Ignored, Sasha was still trying to wriggle free.

"Nyeh! Nrgh! Uwoah!" Moblit readjusted his grip on the struggling toddler, so that she could no longer move. Bidding goodbye to Hanji, he started heading back the QRC.

"Nooooo! Jiji! I wanna stay with Jiji!"

"H-Hey! Calm down Sasha! She just has to clean up first..." Moblit slowed his pace. If he went too fast, he could bump into Levi and the criminal being taken to the holding cells.

"Oh... Okie dokie.... Can you finish the stowy now?!"

"Th- The story? Oh yes! The story!" As the duo settled into QRC, Moblit continued with his elaborate story of the mountain on fire. Neither of them noticed Hani pass by with a soft smile. She quickly hurried onwards, towards the cells where Jaeger and Ackerman were under the highest guard.

"Professor Hanji." The officer on duty saluted respectfully.

"Just Hanji will be fine, Riko~." The much shorter woman nodded. She stepped aside to allow Hanji in, and the scientist headed straight to the cell containing Kenny Ackerman. Already she could hear the impact of knuckles to skin, and she knew Levi was taking out his vengeful anger on his former mentor. Through the bars and bulletproof glass as she approached, Hanji bore witness to Levi's fury, unleashed on the prisoner. He was cussing and growling under his breath as he threw punch after punch at the defenceless criminal. The bristle beard was damp with red liquid, and Levi's own knuckles were cracked and tearing.

"Levi..."

"Yes? What?" He stepped back from his prey, grey eyes glowering.

"Only 45 minutes until the assessor arrives... We still need Reiss..." With a sigh, Levi ran a bloodied hand through his fringe.

"We don't even know where he is."

"Cottontail preschool and primary." Two bewildered sets of eyes turned to the cell opposite, where Grisha hung his head in shame.

"Wh- What did you say?" Hanji knew that place.

"Cottontail preschool and primary. That's where Reiss is." Hanji often went there.

"Why?" She'd tag along with her friend to pick up Connie, and most times, Sasha.

"His illegitimate daughter. He's picking her up today." Hanji would have been out the door in the flash. But there was still something she needed to do. Her fist swung at Ackerman, his nose cracking and splintering beneath the force of her hit. She growled as she moved in to meet his eyes directly.

"That's for murdering my best friend." She whirled around, ponytail slapping the silent man in the face, storming out of the cell. She'd had revenge for Petra. It wasn't enough, but it would do. With a final curse under his breath, Levi securely locked the cells and sprinted after the scientist. They passed a bewildered Mike, but he remained. With Erwin in hospital and those two out of the station, all responsibility fell to him.

"Hanji, you don't have a license!!! Get in the fucking passenger seat!!!"


	9. The wrong girl

Rod Reiss was nervous. Standing in a crowd of waiting mothers, he twiddled his thumbs awkwardly. Any minute now, primary school hours would end, and the older children would come out. With them, his daughter. The bell rang. The more enthusiastic children were out first, and Reiss scanned the crowd. As more and more children filtered away, he begun to lose hope... Even though he had often failed to collect money from the cocaine sales, Ackerman had assured him that the problem was taken care of, and Reiss was free to see his little girl. He dare not think what 'taken care of' meant... Ah! There she was!

"H- Historia!" He stumbled forwards, towards two children who had just exited through the side door of the primary building. The taller, he didn't recognise... But the other girl! Caribbean blue eyes, creamy peach skin, and long blonde hair down to her mid-back. That, a goddess of a child, was his daughter. Seeing the short, chubby man come over to her, the girl gasped and hid behind her tall friend. Reiss dropped to his knees.

"Historia, don't you recognise me? I'm your father! Please, princess! You must remember me!"

"Ehh? Historia? Listen mister, I think you have the wrong kid."

"N-No! I know my daughter!" 

"Ymir, he- he's right..." The blonde girl emerged from behind her friend, met with a strange look from the lanky figure.

"Huh? Krista, what d'you mean?"

"This is my father..." Ymir looked between the two, eyebrow raised as she saw no resemblance, and Krista's reluctance. She tugged the softer girl back, away from him.

"Yeah, whatever, nice to meet ya mister, but we gotta get home." Mature for her age, Krista started to follow the 7 year old to the more populated side of the playground.

"W-wait, Historia! Please!" Ymir noticed two police officers stepping up to the gates. She caught Krista's eyes and nodded over towards them.

"Go. I'll hold up Tubby."

"W-Will you be okay?" The small blonde seemed to glitter with concern and beauty. Ymir pulled her into a tight hug with a large grin.

"So cute! Of course I'll be fine~! Hey, marry me when this is all over!" A small, comforted smile tugged at Krista's lips.

"You say that all the time, Ymir~."

"Yup! 'Cos I mean it! And you always say-"

"Maybe when I'm not 6 and you're not 7." Krista gave a true, cute smile, before heading off towards the policeman and policewoman, the latter of which didn't appear to be in the traditional dark blue uniform. She hurried over, and tugged at the man's elbow.

"E-Excuse me..."

"Hm? What do you want?" Narrow grey eyes looked at her as if she was the scum of the earth. The intimidation was short lived when the woman elbowed the man in the ribs.

"Oof! Hanji!"

"Be nice, Levi! They're only kids!" The lady crouched down to Krista's height.

"What's up? Do you need help?"

"U-Umm... Yes please... My father is here, and he shouldn't be... Mother has papers against him..."

"Eh? Your dad?" The realisation dawned on Levi first.

"You. What's your name? Full name?"

"Kr- Krista Lenz..." A pause of disappointment. "But I used to be Historia Reiss..."

"Tha's him. Where's your dad?" Krista pointed over to the middle of the playground. There, on the floor, was the noble. Knocked down to the pavement by pre-schoolers and primary children, he was currently being used as a trampoline, climbing frame, and punching bag. Ymir grinned from the top of her 'prize', her face a picture of pride. Levi and Hanji approached casually, and Levi smirked as he unhooked the handcuffs from his belt.

"You know... I'm starting to like children as a species."


	10. A question of Walls.

2 minutes to spare. Under Mike's guidance, the entire station had been cleaned, and all three suspects were apprehended. Levi had finished up his baking, and Hanji had even managed to convince him to part with one more cake, which she gave to Sasha. Moblit had long since finished his story, and had resorted to facepainting to keep the child entertained. Oh, what a beautiful rainbow smudge Moblit was.

"S-Supervisor! Please stop laughing!"

"Pffft~! It's amazing! Amazing!!!"

"N-No! Put the camera away! H-Hanji!"

"- She's just in here. ... Please excuse our science division... We don't let them out much..."

"I see~." The social services assessor chuckled amusedly as Levi let them into the QRC. Sheepishly, Moblit went back to standing properly, whilst Hanji was less ashamed and snapped a picture of his painted face on her phone.

"Hee-Hee~" She was quick to skip out of the room. Levi rolled his eyes.

"Jiji, Jiji~!" Before the speedy toddler could escape, Moblit scooped her up from behind.

"Hold on Sasha. This nice lady would like to speak to you." The pre-schooler gazed over at the 'lady', dressed in a smart black suit. Blue-green eyes closed in laughter and short blond hair moved very slightly as the assessor chuckled.

"Actually, I'm biologically male~. Oh, but I do make a lovely lady, don't I~?"

"O-Oh, my apologies..." Moblit put Sasha down, before offering his hand out to shake.

"Moblit, science division." The friendly stranger before him firmly shook the hand.

"Nanaba, social services~. And this must be... Sasha?" At her name, the pre-schooler tilted her head to the side cutely.

"... You're pwetty..." Nanaba laughed openly as a slight blush dusted their cheeks.

"Thank you~. You're very pretty too~." Sasha giggled like the young girl she was, burying her reddened face in her hands. With a small smile, Moblit ruffled her hair. The behaviour was noted down by Nanaba, on the official looking clipboard.

"Are they taking good care of you here?"

"Mhm~! They give me reawwy good food, an' yummy cakes, an' keepeded the bad man away!"

"Kept the bad man away?!" A shocked Nanaba glanced between Moblit and Levi almost frantically. Whilst the scientists assistant laughed nervously, Levi sighed heavily.

"There was a break in. Moblit was able to keep Sasha safe whilst a co-worker and I apprehended the individual. He's in the holding cells now, with two others."

"Bad men, bad men! Fwee bad men!"

"Sasha, shh..."

"Do all three relate to this case?"

"Yes. I'll take you down now." Levi led Nanaba off, down into the holding cells. The entire time, Nanaba wrote on their clipboard, making notes about what they had witnessed. Even whilst being introduced to the criminals, Nanaba's pen scribbled across the paper. Levi knew the social worker was analysing the crime, deciding where Sasha would be assigned to. The Underground, an institute for violent or disadvantaged children. Or The Walls, where she would be fostered, adopted, or raised until she was 18. Although he did not particularly like the child, Levi hoped she was not placed in The Underground. He knew the horrors which occurred there.

"Right! I think I've reached a conclusion!"

"Hm?" The door to the holding cells was bolted as they exited, Levi sparing a nod toward Riko as she stood guard.

"I think she'd be quite suited to The Walls institution~." A feeling of relief had the policeman pull a rare smile, though he fought _that_ off rather quickly.

"Which category?"

"Wall Rose. Which means she'll be legible for fostering until 10, and adoption thereafter."

"Excellent. I believe you've just made a certain scientist very happy..."


	11. Can YOU do the fandango?

"Sasha! Sasha, come on! It's time to wake up!"

"Nooooo... Leave me alooooone..."

"Come on! It's almost 10:00!"

"Urgh! Don't you know teenagers need to sleep?!"

"I could let you sleep..."

"Thank you."

"... Although you'll be late for the first day of police academy." Instantly, like a bolt of lightening, a young teenager burst out from her bed cover cocoon. She sprinted across the room like a mad man, collecting articles of clothing and pulling her long, chocolatey hair into a ponytail.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier, Moblit?!?!" The man laughed. 12 years had passed since that fateful day, and now Sasha was returning to the police station. This time, not as a victim or suspect, but as a police officer in training, and Moblit's adopted daughter.

"I'm taking the box of pop tarts with me!"

"Umm! No you're not, young lady! A healthy breakfast is essential!" 

"Oh come on! I'll share with the others!"

" _ **NO!!!** They're my pop tarts anyways!_ " Light hearted squabbling was the most common wake up in this house, and Sasha laughed as she entered the bathroom to change. Moments later, she emerged in full trainee uniform and sprinted down the stairs. Moblit was stood by the kettle, waiting for his tea, and was just distracted enough that she could swipe the box of pop tarts from the countertop.

"Bwahahaha~! To the victor go the spoils of war~!"

"S-Sashaaaaa! My pop tarts!" A horn from outside beeped three times.

"Oh, there's my ride! I'll see you there, Moby~!" Sasha pelted out the door, clambering into the passenger seat of a small, silver smart car.

"Foot on the gas, Jiji! Moblit's out for blood!" Hanji laughed at the morning greeting as she waited until Sasha was belted, the indicated and pulled away from the curb.

"Mornin' to you too, lil' pota-"

" _Don't call me that!!!_ And yes, good morning~."

"Ready for your big day?"

"Absolutely! D'you know who's taking the ceremony?" Hanji smiled secretively.

"I'll give you a clue... We finally got him out of the office."

"No way! Erwin~?!" Sasha had met him many, many times, but he rarely emerged from the office, be it due to lack of self confidence, or just awkwardness with having a single arm.

"Yup! He insisted~. Think he's trying to give y'all a scare. He said the new recruits need to see what could happen first hand. Oh... Umm... He- He might bring up Petra as well, just to give you warning..."

"Oh..." The mood in the car deflated. For a few seconds, Sasha only looked down at her lap. Then, she turned to look out the window with a small smile.

"Do you think she'd be proud of me...?"

"For following in her footsteps? ... I think she'd be honoured~."

"And my parents?" Hanji had to think carefully.

"From what I know of them, they'd be proud of you for doing the right thing. Your Pa, especially."

"Thank you." The sombre mood, although comfortable, was starting to make Hanji twitch. Henceforth, she reached forwards and turned the radio on. Immediately, at the very first chord, she and Sasha whipped their heads around to each other, and in unison blurted;

"I LOVE THIS SONG!!!" Speeding over the bumpy road full of potholes, out of tune singing erupted from the car, the females inside bouncing around dangerously.

"Scaramouch! Scaramouch! Can you do the fandango? Thunderbolts and lightening, very very frightening ME!" The music in the car was cut off as the engine was turned off. The girls laughed, stopping only to recollect themselves and sort out their hair and uniform.

"Thanks for the lift, Hanji~"

"No probs! Don't forget Levi's taking you back to the station after the ceremony!"

"Yeah, I know~. Thanks again!" Sasha emerged from the car, hurrying over to her friends. Many of them, she knew from either Cottontail Preschool and Primary, or from the institute.

"Yo~!" Connie was the first to notice her approach, and she tackled him with a noogie on his bald, silver head.

"Morning! Are you guys all as psyched as I am?!" She was the life and soul of the group, a ball of energy and ray of sunshine that kept them strong. It had always been that way, since they'd taken their first test to get into the academy. Singularly, none of them would be here, except maybe Mikasa. But Sasha had pulled them all together, had somehow grouped together these people from all different backgrounds, and it _worked._

"Morning Sasha! Hey! Are those pop tarts!?" Eren's green eyes widened. He had, of course, only just woken up, having been dragged here half asleep by Armin and Mikasa.

"Yup!" She grinned, distributing the silver packets so that everyone could have one.

"Afraid they're a little cold!"

"All good!" Reiner ruffled her hair, already stuffing his face with the offered food.

"You're not going to drop out at the ceremony, right?"

"I- I've heard rumours these guys are s-scary..." Poor Bertholdt seemed to sweat with nervousness.

"Scary?! Hell no! These guys are my family~, they're like kittens!"

"ALL SQUADS, ASSEMBLE!" 

"... Except Keith. He's an arsehole." Amused, the group lined up. Chatter was silenced as other squads followed the same example. Keith walked in between the rows, scrutinizing each and every member. Some, he turned around on the spot, and Sasha knew they were immediately disqualified. She puffed out her cheek. As Keith passed by her, she quite blatantly stuck her tongue out, much to the rest of her squads horror. A hand rested on her head. But he only ruffled the hair before moving on.

"ALL EYES FRONT AND CENTER!" At the command, those who had not been physically turned around fixed their gaze on the stage in front of them. Erwin took the stage, blue eyes critically piercing the many souls, and an intimidating aura daunting the weaker.

"Good morning. It's good to see so many determined young faces. But this isn't a job you can do with just determination. Even skill and practice cannot assure your safety." Erwin reached up and unhooked his left arm. The prosthetic limb dropped to the ground.

"This isn't even the worst. I'd like you to know that death is also a risk." At this point, Levi stepped onto the stage. His voice was low, but clear.

"12 years ago, I had one of the most skilled squads in this region. And let me just point out that death doesn't discriminate. Death doesn't care if you're poor, like Gunther. Death doesn't care if you're young, like Oulo. Death doesn't care if you have a family to provide for, like Eldo. Death doesn't give a shit about your gender, male or female. Petra Ral, one of the best I knew, was still on radio to me when the building went up like a fucking minefield. Keep that in consideration."

"Thank you, Levi." The shorter stepped back, but he managed to send an apologetic glance towards Sasha. She nodded slowly, still hurt. Erwin retook his position at the very front of the stage.

"Those who have been excluded, and those who aren't prepared to risk their lives, are entitled to leave." Almost instantly, people begun to filter away. Sparing a glance left and right, Sasha could see all the members of the 104th stayed in place. Even Armin and Krista, who had been turned around. Two minutes later, Erwin smiled, rare and warm.

"You can face the front now." The two blonds, although confused, did so.

"Those that are left, welcome to the police academy. I can see you're already proficient at working in a team, so you'll be under Levi's care. I look forwards to seeing some of you under my command."

"Yes Sir!" The trainees saluted in unison, hope and pride swelling in their chests as a new chapter of their lives begun.


End file.
